Understand

Orienting yourself in Jinju is easy. The town is cut in half by the Nam River (Namgang), with Jinju Fortress, downtown, most hotels, the commercial-residential sprawl and the intercity bus station all on the north bank. The train station and the express bus station lie on the south bank.

Get in

By plane

Jinju's Sacheon Airport (IATA: HIN), 20 km away from the city, fields two flights daily to and from Seoul's Gimpo Airport. Buses to the city center take 25 minutes and cost W3000. Sacheon Airport serves domestic routes. Gimhae International Airport is 1 and a half hours away in the suburbs of Busan, and it serves international routes.

By bus

Bus is the easiest way of reaching Jinju. There are departures every ten minutes from Busan's Seobu (Sa-sang) terminal (1.5h, W6900) and from Masan (1h, W4000), as well as every 20-30 min from Seoul's Gangnam Express Bus terminal (4h, W20000). Check which bus terminal you will be arriving at as the Intercity Bus Terminal is centrally located within walking distance of Jinju Fortress while the Express Bus Terminal is located a bit further south, on the south side of the river.

There is a bus that goes directly from Incheon Airport to Jinju. It departs the airport at 10:30am and 1:20pm. It takes 4 hours, and it costs about ₩36,000.

The main highway in Jinju is National Highway 10 or Namhae Expressway.

By train

There are 5 services daily to Seoul (6.5h) and 4 to Busan (3h). Jinju is served by passenger service at Jinju Station along the Gyeongjeon Line.

Note: currently (Autumn 2012) Jinju has two train stations. The old train station is near downtown, on the south side of the river (near Manggyeong-dong or Juyak-dong). A new train station is being built near Gyeongsang University, at the southern end of town. This new train station is functioning; you can get on and off the train there. Rumor has it that the old train station is going to close - expect concrete news on this topic by Jan 2013. The new train station is supposed to have KTX service in December 2012. The new train station is a 20 minute walk from GNU. Getting to and from the new train station: the city buses 126, 127, 131, 132, 134, and 135 go there.

Get Around

By Bus

Buses inside Jinju cost 1100 won and go almost everywhere in Jinju. You can buy a reloadable bus pass at convenience stores like GS-25. These cost about 10,000won and may come with a bus ride or two already on them, depending on the kind you buy. Each ride is discounted to 1,000 won as well. See also here: http://internationalenglishchurch.com/IEC/Buses_Taxis_Trains.html

Buses are available but you'll find it hard to use it unless you speak Korean, since bus stop signs are almost exclusively in Korean and your average bus driver won't speak English.

By Bicycle or On Foot

Highly recommended. Jinju is a small city, so if you have a detailed street map, you can simply get around on foot. If you’re touring the city, you’ll probably be walking, as there is no bicycle-rental system. If you live here, a bicycle is a nice investment.

The Nam River is lined with a lovely park that featurea outdoor gymnasiums, multiple-lane bicycle paths, and 24-hour restrooms. Cars are generally not allowed.

Numerous mountains with hiking trails can be found around the city.

By Taxi

Deluxe taxis are black with a yellow sign and are more expensive than regular taxis but provide better and more comfortable service. Regular taxis are silver or yellow. For the most part, regular taxi cabs have leather interiors and the drivers are nice--so, for many people, "regular" in Korea might be "deluxe" in their hometown or home country.

The basic fare for regular taxis is ₩2,200, with a surcharge of ₩100 applied according to time and distance. In deluxe taxis, the basic fare is ₩4500 and the additional fare increases in increments of ₩200. Jinju is a small city, so you will rarely spend more than ₩7000 on a taxi ride.

In general, taxi drivers do not speak English or any other foreign language, so have your destination written in Korean to show to the taxi driver. It is also wise to get your hotel's business card in case you get lost. Some may even reject looking at a map so whenever possible, have the location written in Korean.
Overall, the vast majority Korean taxi drivers are good honest people. As in any other country, there are some bad apples, and some drivers may take you the long way. Although the drivers often have a GPS device on the dashboard of their car, this is relatively meaningless if you do not know the area or cannot speak sufficient Korean to argue the point.

In general, make sure the driver turns on the meter, get an idea of the cardinal direction of your destination (north, south, east, west), and use the interpretation service if you want to agree to a fare beforehand.
However, keep in mind that sometimes a long route is necessary. If you suspect you are being ripped off, the most a non-Korean speaker can do is write down or take a picture of the driver's ID (located above the glove box) and report the details to the company.

Talk

As elsewhere in Korea, a grasp of basic Korean will be helpful. If you plan on an extended visit, consider learning to read the Korean written script, hangeul. It takes very little time to pick up the basics, and it can be endlessly helpful. This is a good site for learning the Korean alphabet: http://www.indiana.edu/~koreanrs/hangul.html . Thirty minutes there will see you recognizing and pronouncing some Korean words.

While all younger Koreans are required to study English in school, due to a lack of practice, proficiency is generally poor, and most Jinju-ites only know a few simple words and phrases, or nothing at all. A basic grasp of Korean will make your trip much smoother.

See

Most sights in Jinju are located on the grounds of the Jinju Fortress (진주성 Jinjuseong), at the west end of the north bank. Jinju's moment of glory came in 1592 during the Imjin War, when a force of just 3,800 Koreans held off an invading army of 20,000 Japanese. Unfortunately, the Japanese came back the next year with an army of 70,000 — Jinju was finally crushed and all defenders were killed or committed suicide. Admission to the fortress grounds costs W1000, open 9 AM to 10 PM daily. Parking is available in front of the fortress, at 500won per 30 minutes for small and medium sized vehicles, and 1000won per 30 minutes for large vehicles. The night scenery of the Fortress is also a breathtaking sight and a must-see.

Chokseongnu Pavilion, at the east end of the fortress. The command base during the battles of Jinju, this beautiful pavilion is next to the cliff with commanding views across the river. During days of peace, civil service exams were held here.

Jinju National Museum, at west end of fortress, [2]. A small but well-presented branch of the National Museum specializing in the Imjin War. Labeling in English is a little spotty but mostly sufficient. At time of writing, an interesting (if rather propagandistic) 3D film on the First Battle of Jinju is being screened hourly for free. Admission W1000/free adults/children, open daily except Monday from 9 AM to 5 PM or later.

Nongae Shrine, next to Chokseongnu. Commemorates the gisaeng (courtesan) Nongae, who seduced a Japanese general after their victory in the second battle, and with her arms wrapped around him plunged from the cliff to her — and his — death. The yearly Nongae Festival commemorates the event.

Musical Fountain, a 15 minute walk west of Jinju fortress, on the river. This fountain is a must-see for any visitor to Jinju. An impressive water and light show is put on by the fountain in time to a selection of songs ranging from classical to popular music. Shows are at regular intervals beginning after dark (exact times depend on the season). This is a popular gathering place for couples and families in the summer.

A few sights of minor interest are scattered elsewhere around town.

Eunyeolsa Shrine. The birthplace of Confucian scholar Gang Mincheom, the shrine is small but picture-perfect.

Do

Events

Jinju Namgang Lantern Festival which is held in October for approximately ten days. This nationally designated cultural tourism festival, found only in Jinju, features a spectacle of lanterns floating on the Nam River to commemorate the patriotic spirit of the 70,000 militia corps and government troops who died for their country defending Jinju from the Japanese forces during the Imjin War (1592–1598).

The Nongae Festival, held in May each year commemorates and celebrates the sacrifice of the beautiful and patriotic gisaeng (professional Korean entertainer) Nongae's suicide-assassination of a Japanese general together with the 70,000 Koreans who lost their lives in the battle of Jinju Castle during the Imjin War. The festival features an emotional reenactment of Nongae's suicidal drowning of a Japanese general from ‘uiam bawi’ (righteous rock) below Chokseongnu (Jinju castle pavilion) on the banks of the Nam River.

Gaecheon Arts Festival is annually held from October 3 to 10 and the entire city turns to the streets for celebration at Korea's first provincial culture art festival, which awakens the artistic spirit of the Korean people. The festival falls around Gaecheonjeol (National Foundation Day) and is widely regarded as one of Korea's finest.

The Jinju National Bullfighting Contest is recognized as Korea's oldest bullfighting event and spectators can witness a test of strength at this bullfighting contest held at a purpose-built traditional Korean sports arena near Jinyang lake in August.

Movies

There are two movie theaters in Jinju. Lotte Cinema is located downtown. MBC Cinema is located on the east side of town.

Visit this site (http://cineinkorea.com) to check movie titles and show times. Select “Gyeongsang” Province. “CVG” is MBC and the other is Lotte Cinema.

If the movie is in English, it will have Korean subtitles. If the movie uses subtitles to communicate character dialogue from a different language, it will only be in Korean.

Learn

Korean Language

Gyeongsang National University (GNU, Gyeonsang Daehak-gyo, 경상대학교) is located in the southern part of Jinju. They offer Korean-language classes each semester. For information, contact [email protected] .

Sports

Taekwondo, Korea's most popular martial art.

There are a variety of gyms in Jinju.

If you look around your neighborhood, you might be able to see PT signs. That stands for "personal trainer.” There are a few by Gyeongsang National University (GNU, Gyeonsang Daehak-gyo, 경상대학교). There’s a boxing gym in I-hyeon-dong (I-hyeon neighborhood), on the ground floor of the sports stadium.

Rock climbing gym. It's a bouldering gym, there is no top-roping. The gym is in the community center, downtown. Directions: "Stand in front of Lotte Cinema. Get across the road, and walk to the left towards Angels and Us. Turn right into that road, walk past the first little street and the next building on your right is the community center."

Yoga. There are a few different yoga studios in Jinju. There’s a yoga place across the road from Gyeongsang University, Gajwadong. There’s also a yoga place called “Bobby Hot Yoga” across the road from McDonalds in Pyeonggeo-dong.

Marathons. There are several marathons throughout the year in Jinju. The website to register for marathons is in Korean, so get a friend to help you.

Work

There is an immense demand for ESL (English as a Second Language) instruction in South Korea. See the main South Korea article for details.

Options: public school, private school (“hagwon”), or university.

For a first-time teacher, the public schools and the hagwons are your best bet. Usually, they’ll take anyone with a 4-year degree, a TESOL certificate, and the papers necessary to get an E-2 Korean work visa (health check, criminal background check, etc). Public schools have lower salaries, but more time off. Private schools (“hagwons”) have higher salaries, but almost no vacation time.

For the teacher with more experience, a university job is a possibility. The universities prefer applicants with a master’s degree, and at least 2 or 3 years of teaching experience. Recently, the universities have become stricter in their requirements – nowadays they require a masters in TESOL and 5 years of teaching experience.

Buy

Souvenirs for the Tourist

There´s an excellent silk outlet across the street from the fortress(촉석루) towards the main bridge. The prices are good and the quality and selection are excellent.
If you want to experience a local traditional flea market, you could swing by Joong-ang central market ("Joong-Ahng-Shee-Jhang = 중앙시장".
Come and get a glimpse into the daily lives of the people of Jinju at this market with over a 100 year history. At Joongang market shoppers can browse through the medicine and hanbok (traditional Korean dress) street, restaurant street, and street vendor street. The central underground shopping mall, south of Jinju central intersection, offers an array of medicinal products, accessories, cosmetics, clothing and living products.
Also, there are many little shops (가게, 상점) through out the city where you can buy goods.

Living in Jinju

Jinju now has three major department stores - E-Mart, Galleria and Homeplus, where you can purchase foods stuffs, including some western type foods, clothing, footwear, electrical goods, bedding and household goods. Both, also include a food court, where you can sit and eat western style take-away foods or a large variety of traditional Korean foods. Emart and Galleria are both close to the center of the city; Emart is a little to the west, and Galleria is a little north. Homeplus is on the east side of the city. Food/groceries are on the basement level of these department stores.

There are several Hi-marts, LG stores, and Samsung stores throughout the city, for your electronic/appliance needs.

Grocery stores are found everywhere in Jinju, from small family operated grocery stores, to the upmarket chain convenience stores like GS25, Family Mart (renamed "CU" in August 2012), 7-11, etc. These grocery stores generally operate 24 hours for your convience. At these stores you can purchase items like, milk, soft drinks, beer, cigarettes, snack foods and general grocery items.

If you are planning to set up house in Jinju, there are furniture shops in Jinju that can provide most of your requirements, whether you are looking for new or second hand furniture and appliances.Linen and bedding stores are also available and there is also two outdoor markets in Jinju where you can purchase all of these things.
Personal gardens are pretty much non-existant in Jinju, however, there are plenty of shops where you can buy indoor plants and pots and all the tools to satisfy your green thumb.

There are a number of book stores in Jinju; however most only stock Korean literature. The bookstore, on the basement floor of the MBC building in Hotan-Dong, does have some English language and reading books. It is almost impossible to find English newspapers in Jinju, the internet being the only way to keep up with overseas news and current events.

Eat

This guide uses the following price ranges for a typical meal for one, including soft drink:

Budget

<₩10,000

Mid-range

₩10,000-25,000

Splurge

>₩25,000

Much of Korean social life revolves around food and the city is packed with restaurants, so it would take a determined man to starve to death in Korea. This fate may still befall you if you insist on English menus and meals consisting only of easily identifiable, familiar ingredients, so see South Korea#Eat for a quick Korean menu reader. An alternative is to just point and eat, your hosts generally will accommodate. If you look in the right places, a good meal (lunch or dinner) including side dishes can cost ₩5,000 or less (try basements of large department stores).

In addition to Korean food, Japanese restaurants tend to be excellent, featuring sushi and sashimi. Chinese restaurants exist, but are typically adapted to suit local preferences. There are a few Italian restaurants; these are generally excellent, although flavors tend to be more or less Koreanized, with sugar in the garlic bread and meatballs.

Bakeries are found throughout, including some of the common big chains.

Budget

Jinju has plenty of budget places to eat. Everything from convenience store junk food and noodles to street stall food and lots of 24 hr Korean fast food restaurants. The 24-hour restaurants are great because they've usually got a wide variety of foods, including: mandu, odeng, dokbokki, naengmyeon, udon and ramyeon. Prices do vary from about ₩2,000-₩9,000 at these restaurants. Also open late into the night are Korean BBQ restaurants. These can be very cheap and are usually of good quality. Barbecue options usually are limited to pork and beef, and they often come with a smattering of side dishes. Korean BBQ is, in itself, an experience that makes you feel like a Korean. The larger department stores in the city have basement food courts that offer excellent food (not recommended if you care about atmosphere).

Other

Bibimbap at Kwan Namgaek Sikdang

Jinju has its own version of bibimbap (비빔밥), which is rice topped with all sorts of goodies. The Jinju style, also known as kkotbap (flower rice) or chilbohwaban (seven-color flower rice), is distinguished by using raw meat! (Not to be confused with the rather more famous Jeonju bibimbap.)

Another local delicacy is broiled eel (장어구이 jangeo-gui), eaten bulgogi-style with a dab of gochujang paste and wrapped in a sesame leaf.

Kwan Namgaek Sikdang, next to National Museum. Coffee, drinks and pretty decent bibimbap sets (W5000). There's a bizarre collection of totem poles outside to stare at while you wait for your order.

Yujeongjangeo (유정장어), north bank (just west of bridge) tel. 746-9235. Specializes in amazing grilled eel. No English sign but easily spotted (it's the ornate traditional house), English menu on the wall. ₩20000 for a saltwater Anguilla eel and the works, ₩16000 for freshwater Conger eel, each set is designed to serves two if you order rice on the side (an extra ₩1000). They'll halve the eel you get if you go in alone, but don't expect a discount.

Drink

Jinju has a few bars and clubs.
Pyeonggeo-dong (평거동, west side of town) has quite a few bars and clubs. For example, Umbrella Bar is quite popular. Umbrella Bar is called 우산 in Korean. Address: 우산, 평거동, 진주시. +82 55-745-9305

There are also many bars and clubs near Gyeongsang National University (GNU, Gyeonsang Daehak-gyo, 경상대학교), on the south side of town.

Some people say that the tap water is drinkable, but others would recommend drinking bottled water, which is widely available.

Sleep

Budget

The cheapest place to sleep anywhere in Korea is at the local jjimjilbang (찜질방). This is a kind of public bathhouse that has a communal room for sleeping on the heated floor. Expect sauna access, cotton pyjamas, a locker to put your stuff in and a price under 10,000 won. One such jimjilbang is Theme Spa Land (테마건강란드), which has a good sauna.

Mid-range

There are lots of gaudy love hotels/yeogwan along the riverfront on both sides of the bus terminal. Rooms from W25,000 and up.
Among these, The Versace Motel (베르싸체 모텔) is recognisable for it's romanesque frontage, complete with pillars and small balconies. Located right next to Jinju Bridge in the city centre, rooms start at around W40,000, but are large, clean and offer the best views of the river - especially during the festivals.

Splurge

Asia Lakeside Hotel (아시아 강변호텔), [3]. A business style hotel with marvellous views over a reservoir — the downside is the location 20 minutes from the city center by taxi. Both ondol (온돌식) and Western-style (서양식) rooms from 120,000W and up.

Dongbang Tourist Hotel (동방관광호텔), east end of north bank, tel. +82-55-743-0131, [4]. Jinju's premier city centre hotel, getting older but still in good shape. Spa/sauna complex and a number of rooftop restaurants and bars. Ondol/Western rooms from 106,000W plus taxes. English spoken.

Stay Safe

Jinju is a very safe city. Pickpocketing is not very common and violent crime is minimal.

If you happen to be a non-Korean male walking hand-in-hand with a Korean female, drunk older Korean men might yell at you.

If you do end up in a fight, remember that Korean law is possibly different to your home country. Just because someone else started the fight does not provide you with legal protection if the attacker ends up hurt. As in anywhere else in the world, get out of such a situation as quickly as you can.

Contact

Internet cafes known as PC bang (PC 방) (pr: pee-shee-bang) are common, and usually cost anywhere from ₩800-₩2,000/hr.

A Korean keyboard using a Korean OS can type in English or Hangul.

Most have printers at the front desk. These places cater chiefly to gamers, which translates into fairly fast computers, loud sound systems and large screens. Most PC rooms have smoking sections. Typically, the computers run a Korean version of Windows XP and use Internet Explorer.

Console gaming (Xbox 360, PS3) is widely available, and for those with proficiency in Korean language, you might also be able to enjoy a round of online gaming; the fantasy MMORPG Lineage was created in Korea and a slew of MMORPG titles not available anywhere else can be found here.

Post offices are sprinkled around Jinju, although many are hidden on smaller roads and alleys.

The Korean postal insignia is orange and white. It can be spotted on post office signs.

Most post offices sell boxes and packing materials. They probably don't speak English, or if they do, they only speak a little bit.

If you want to buy an international phone card, you can look in convenience stores (also known as ‘variety stores’, such as 7-11, Family Mart, GS25, etc). If the convenience stores don’t have any, then you can check the Asian Food stores. Option 1: There’s a Chinese shop next to the Intercity Bus Terminal that has international phone cards. Option 2: there’s a Pakistani shop near City Hall. It's just off the road that goes past City Hall, in the Homeplus direction, down an alley, on the right. They’re cheap and last for about 4 hours.

Cope

Language issues

Over the last 15-20 years Korea has undergone a major English language boom. Korean families are eager for their children to learn English and commonly place them in private language schools.

However, note with caution that the vast majority of Koreans will not speak any English, particularly the older generation.

Medical

Pharmacies are everywhere. While most are labeled only in Korean, the signage and Hangul character is easy to recognize, 약 (pronounced “yak”). Most pharmacists speak some English.

Vaccinations/inoculations: the place to get vaccines is at the Public Health Center, on the second floor. The Public Health Center is located across the street from E-Mart, in Insadong (인사동). They do not speak English there.

Hospitals:

GyeongSang University Hospital (055) 750-8282

Jinju Goryeo Hospital (055) 751-2525

Jeil Hospital (055) 750-7119

Bando Hospital (055) 749-0200

Jinju Medical Clinic (055) 740-8281

Hanil Hospital (055) 750-1333

Emmaus Hospital (055) 749-9000. Pan-mun-dong neighborhood.

Dentists: There are several good dentists in Jinju. The Korean word for “dentist” is치과 (chi-gwa).

Ye Dentist (예치과)., Jinju city, Sinandong 13-1 Ye Building, second floor (경상남도 진주시 신안동 13-1 예빌딩 2층), ☎+82-55-747-2828. The receptionists’ English is poor, but the actual dentist’s English is very good. He does a lot of cosmetic dental work, too. Copy-and-paste the Korean address into http://map.naver.com for a good map.

Thai Massage. In Pyeonggeo-dong (neighborhood on the west side of town), there's a Thai massage place. The ladies there don't speak English; it's called Thai Feeling 태국전통휠링센타. 010-6399-8882. If you know the Korean alphabet, you can sound out "sports massage", etc, on their list of offered massages. It's usually about W60,000 for an hour. Latitude and longitude: 35.171592, 128.063206. If you just copy-and-paste the latitude and longitude into GoogleMaps, it should pop up with the location. The massage place is on the same block as a 7-11 and a Paris Baguette. The massage place is on the second floor of the building. The outside of the building says "Chinese foot massage" and has pictures of people getting massages, but the inside of the building says "Thai feeling".

Some people with sensitive stomachs should use caution when dining in Korea as some of the local cuisine is heavily spiced with copious amounts of pepper and garlic.

Churches

International English Church (Jinju Sungnam Church, 성남교회) meets on Sundays at 1:30PM for English speakers, including both foreigners and Koreans. More information is available at http://internationalenglishchurch.com/IEC/Welcome.html. They host an American-style Thanksgiving dinner for the Jinju community every November.

Jinju Church (진주교회) is international and non-denominational. Join us on Sunday at 11.00am for lively worship followed by lunch. There is also Bible study after lunch for all who want to stay. More information is available at http://www.jinjuchurch.or.kr/

Air Quality

Air quality is fine. Jinju is a smaller city, so the air is clean. However, some Koreans sometimes wear different types of masks outdoors for allergies, smog and yellow dust storms (mostly in March-April). Mongolian yellow dust storms were regarded as dangerous long before industrialization began in Asia. Now these storms pick up trace amounts of toxins in the Chinese industry belt.

Other

Haircuts. If you go to Emart in Insadong, there's a hair shop in the Emart. Inside this shop, there is a person (James, or "제임스" in Korean) who speaks English. Address: Jinju Emart, 3 Insadong, Jinju-si, Gyeongsangnam-do (in Korean: 진주이마트점. 경남 진주시 인사동 3번지 [이마트 진주점 1층]. Telephone: 055-747-8322. James doesn't work on Thursdays. Open between 10am and 10pm.

Mostly, Koreans are very curious about foreigners. Many will gawk and stare while others will practice their English. For the most part, Koreans are very friendly on the street and will take great pains to be helpful, despite the above attitudes. If working in Korea, one should do a little reading on Confucianism and how it translates into social standing.

Get out

By plane

The closests airports to Jinju are Sacheon Airport (domestic) and Gimhae International Airport (International).

Jinju's Sacheon Airport (IATA: HIN), 20 km away from the city, fields two flights daily to and from Seoul's Gimpo Airport. Buses to the city center take 25 minutes and cost ₩3000.

Getting to Gimhae Airport in Busan

Take a bus from Jinju to Busan Seobu Bus Terminal. This should cost ₩6900, and it will take about 1.5 hours. Busan Seobu Bus Terminal is very close to Busan’s Sasang subway station. Sasang subway station is close to Gimhae airport. To travel between Sasang subway station and Gimhae airport, you can take a taxi (about ₩10,000 to ₩15,000) or the light rail. Total travel time is about 2 hours.

Getting from Jinju to Incheon Airport in Incheon (near Seoul)

Option 1: Direct Bus. To go from Jinju to Incheon airport, there is an airport bus that departs twice a day. It leaves Jinju at 3:20 am and 5:10am. It takes 4 hours, and it costs about ₩36,000. You buy the ticket on the bus. Catch it at the bus stop around the corner from the Lotteria near Gyeongsang National University. It is near the entrance of Jungchon Elementary School. If you are taking a taxi, tell or show them the name of the major intersection: 개양오거리.

Option 2: Bus to Seoul, then Seoul subway to the airport. You can also take an express bus to Seoul (leaving from the Kosok bus terminal) and then take the subway to Incheon Airport. From the express bus terminal, it takes 85 minutes and requires a transfer at Gimpo Airport. The cost is less than 4000won. The Seoul subway system is connected to the airport, so it is easy to figure out from the any station in the city. This advice also applies for the Seoul Bus system.

Option 3: Bus to Seoul, then Bus to Incheon airport. Again, take a bus from Jinju to Seoul. Use the Express Bus Terminals. There’s a bus that runs between the Seoul Express Bus Terminal (in Gangnam) and Incheon Airport; it leaves at 2:40am and arrives at 3:50am. Check here: www.airport.kr/iiacms/pageWork.iia?_scode=C1203010200

Option 4: Travel from Jinju to Busan, then travel from Busan to Incheon Airport. This is good for flights departing from Incheon in the early morning. First, take a bus from Jinju Shi-way Bus Terminal. Don’t go inside the building to buy the ticket; instead turn right and at the end of the building there’s a glass window with a serving hatch, and you buy the ticket there. This is the late-night bus window. This bus will take you from Jinju Bus Terminal to Busan Nopo-dong Bus Terminal. When you get to Busan Nopo-dong Bus Terminal, buy a ticket for an overnight bus between Busan Nopo-dong Bus Terminal and Incheon airport – it leaves around 11:30pm each night and arrives at 5:00am every morning.

By bus

The main highway in Jinju is National Highway 10 or Namhae Expressway.

Bus is the easiest way of getting in and out of Jinju. There are two bus terminals: the Intercity Bus Terminal (시외버스터미널 = she-way-beo-seu-teo-mi-neol), and the Express Bus Terminal (고속버스터미널 = go-sok-beo-seu-teo-mi-neol). The Intercity Bus Terminal is located in the center of the city (latitude and longitude: 35.191298,128.089379), and the Express Bus Terminal is located a bit south of that (latitude and longitude: 35.178544, 128.092999). Just copy-and-paste the latitude and longitude into Google Maps.

There are departures every ten minutes from Jinju Shiway bus terminal to Busan's Seobu (Sa-sang) terminal (1h 30m in good traffic, ₩6900).

To buy at ticket to Busan’s Nopodong Bus Terminal, go to Jinju Shiway bus terminal, but don’t go inside the building. Instead turn right and at the end of the building there’s a glass window with a serving hatch, and you buy the ticket there. This bus will take you from Jinju to Busan Nopo-dong Bus Terminal.

Buses from Jinju to Daegu depart the Express bus terminal about once an hour between 6:30 and 20:00.

Buy tickets at the stations. They only sell one way tickets departing from their station. Board the bus parked in front of the sign with your destination city. It will also have the city listed in the front window. Ask if you are not sure. The driver will take your ticket before departing.

By taxi

Technically, you can take a taxi to other cities, but it’s extremely expensive. For example, a taxi from Jinju to Busan could be anywhere around ₩100,000 to ₩150,000 (or more!), depending on your bargaining skills.

Going to Jeju Island

If you want to go from Jinju to Jeju Island (제주도), you have several options. By ferry: first, get a bus from Jinju to Busan (부산), Wando (완도), Mokpo (목포), Nokdong (녹동) or Samcheonpo (삼천포). You can get a ferry from these cities to Jeju. By air: get yourself to Busan, go to Gimhae airport, and fly to Jeju Island.

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This is a usable article. It has information for getting in as well as some complete entries for restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!